Jose Quintana is pitching for the White Sox Friday, and that can only mean one thing. The Sox lineup will be good for one or two runs against Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer.
This is how it always goes for Quintana, the tough-luck left-hander who continues to pitch with steady effectiveness but carries on with miniscule run support. For whatever reason, the Sox simply don’t score when Quintana takes the mound.
“I’ve never been a part of something like that,’’ said Todd Frazier, a first-year Sox who is witnessing for the first time what’s been happening for years. “For a month now he’s doing the same thing. We have to find a way to get over that hump.’’
In fact, Quintana has been doing the same thing for four years.
“You’re conscious of it, for sure,’’ Frazier said. “After the game it’s like, ‘We let another one slip by. He gave up one run and they only scored two or three.’ You feel for the guy.‘’
Maybe Quintana should tear the clubhouse apart, throw his arms up and shout “Enough! Score me some freaking runs.” But that’s not his style. A calm, workmanlike, unselfish demeanor is what makes him one of the most popular players in the room.
“I sometimes feel frustrated because we don’t get runs, but I know the hitters try to do their best every time,” Quintana said. “I don’t have control over that.’’
In five seasons in the majors, all as a Sox starter, Quintana has posted ERAs of 3.76, 3.51, 3.32, 3.36 and 2.66, the latter in 2016 with a 5-7 record. He is the only pitcher since 1901 to log 200 innings in each season with an ERA of 3.54 or lower and not win more than nine games, and his 52 no-decisions from 2012-15 were the most in a four-year span in major league history.
Quintana, who ranks fourth in the American League in ERA, has received a total of four runs of support over his last six starts and is 0-6 during that span. According to STATS, he’s the first Sox pitcher to receive zero or one run of support in six straight starts since Ross Baumgarten went seven in a row in 1980.
Perhaps it’s got to the point where hitters, wanting badly to turn the tide for Quintana, don’t stay within themselves when Quintana pitches. That seems somewhat far-fetched but crazier things have happened.
“You have to control what you have to control,’’ Frazier said. “When he’s been pitching the last couple times I think we haven’t been controlling what we’re taught to control – pitch selection, getting the guy over, that kind of stuff. Not putting too much pressure on yourself.
“Control how you feel in the box, step out if you have to. Take a deep breath. If you’re not a home run hitter don’t try and go deep. Eaton with a bunt at the beginning of a game, he can control that, that’s what he does. Don’t try to do too much.’’
The Sox, 10-23 in their last 33 games after going 23-10 in the first 33, are embark on a tough and important road trip that continues in Boston. They’re 2 ½ games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central, and Quintana is 5-2 with a 2.71 ERA against them.
Some runs would be nice.
NOTES: The Sox have requested waivers on Mat Latos and Jimmy Rollins for the purpose of granting their unconditional release.
*Oklahoma right-hander Alec Hansen, drafted 49th overall, reportedly signed for full slot value of $1,284,500.
*White Sox at Indians:
Friday: Jose Quintana (5-7, 2.66) vs.Trevor Bauer (4-2, 3.69), 6:10 p.m, CSN, 890-AM
Saturday: James Shields (2-8, 5.45) vs. Danny Salazar (7-3, 2.19), 5:10, CSN, 890-AM
Sunday: Carlos Rodon (2-6, 4.28) vs. Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 3.40), 12:10, Ch. 9, 890-AM
